Hundreds of Nepali including mountain summiteers, tourism entrepreneurs, government officials and trekking agencies marched on Saturday to mark the first historic ascent of Mt. Qomolangma.

The march was organized in profound respect to the climbers and also to raise awareness about the national tourism campaign "Nepal Tourism Year" (NTY-2011).

On the occasion, Nepali Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation said that though Nepal began to mark May 29 as the International Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) Day, but now this day is also being celebrated in and outside Nepal.

On May 29, 1953, late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Mt. Qomolangma for the first time.

Besides of paying tribute and remembering the first climbers for their heroic achievement in human history, the Nepali government is celebrating this day to promote Nepal as a world-class adventure tourism destination.

The Nepali government is planning to observe the Day coordinating with its diplomatic offices in various countries and regions to draw international communities toward Nepal and mountaineering tourism.

To create awareness about the importance of mountains for livelihood and how they are being melted due to climate change, the procession and the celebration will be helpful, said the organizers.

Similarly, Nepali summiteer Apa Sherpa, world record holder for 20 ascents of Mt. Qomolangma also joined the procession and was honored as the Goodwill Ambassador of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) by the SAARC Secretary General in a separate program organized in capital. He was also assigned as Goodwill Ambassador of NTY-2011.

In this context, the Nepali government recently decided to provide gratis visa to Mt. Qomolangma (8848m) and Mt. Dhaulagiri (8,163m) climbers. Additionally, the Nepali government has also made a decision to waive 50 percent royalty for climbing Mt. Dhaulagiri, a release issued by the NTB on Wednesday reads.